This invention relates to an apparatus for and method of distilling water. More particularly, this invention utilizes a high temperature Peltier effect device to heat water to boil as a vapor and to cool it to distilled water.
Conventional distillers of water such as those designed to distill water in amounts suitable for use in the home have a separate condenser to transfer most or all of the heat along with some steam to the surrounding environment with a fan. This increases the workload on environmental handling systems to remove this heat energy and moisture from environmentally controlled living spaces. Conventional home distillers additionally transfer heat through the walls (including the bottom) of the water reservoir. As water is distilled in these contemporary distillers, precipitates created during the distillation process fall to the bottom of the reservoir. This layer of precipitates decreases the rate of heat transfer to the water and decreases the overall efficiency of these systems. In addition, this layer of precipitates becomes baked onto the bottom of the reservoir and requires expensive efforts and acidic cleansers to remove it.
Reservoirs of the conventional home distillers usually are constructed of relatively expensive stainless steel because of its high thermal conductivity and corrosion resistance. The high thermal conductivity of stainless steel is required because heat is transferred through the walls of the reservoir to the water. Another reason stainless steel is selected for construction of conventional home distillers is that precipitates baked onto the bottom of the reservoir are removed relatively easily. Irrespective of the benefits of stainless steel, it significantly increases the cost of home distillers.
Thus, in accordance with this inventive concept, a need has been recognized in the state of the art for a distillation system using a high temperature thermoelectric device that functions to heat water to its vapor point (steam) and cool the vapor to a distilled water.